Lucas Morley

Thinking of Where To Rent A Surfboard In Huntington Beach?

When you rent a surfboard in Huntington Beach, you will treat yourself to the best surfing experience. The open and spacious beach is situated under the weather that is still warm and somewhat sunny, the sunsets come out spectacularly artistic and the highlight of the beach is surfing. Thousands of tourists and locals gather to enjoy the water and waves experience that Huntington offers. However, surfing requires the use of quality, artistic and beautiful surfboards. Follow the article to the end, and we shall explore and teach you more about Huntington.

Rent A Surfboard In Huntington Beach and Learn About Them

Renting Surfboards requires that you know the types of surfboards there are. These local companies are the best places for you to know where to rent a surfboard in Huntington beach: Surfboard and Bike Rentals, Zacks, Toes on the Nose Surf Shop, Let us run through the kind of surfboards usually used at this surf beach.

Surfboards

Shortboard: This type of surfboard allows better for control of the shaft and uses high speed compared to the longboard. Surfers can move quickly and see a turn ahead and come back faster to the peak of the wave. A shortboard puts the navigator in the position to catch the wave when it’s more critical.

Funboard: This kind of surfboard is created to fall between longboards and shortboards. It has some characteristics of the longboard because it is broader and longer than a typical style shortboard, but also has the features of the shortboard which makes it lighter and allows better maneuverability.

Longboard: This surfboard is the oldest, as it was the first surfboard on which people rode the waves. The 1960s had different forms of surfboards that were used for different purposes. The physical appearance of the board was wider and heavier than those used today. If for some reason, you want to ride the waves on a longboard, you will need to choose a board that suits your size and skill level. Once you’ve used a thinner, lighter and smaller board, you can surf on faster breaking waves, though you may not catch the waves so easily. Longboards are much easier to learn with and a lot of fun.

Surfing in Huntington is made easy for surf sports lovers who do not have a surfboard of their own. Several companies in Huntington offers surfboard rental services, but before we highlight these companies, you have to understand certain factors like the cost per hour, which is the big difference between these surfboard rental service agents. These concessions rent surfboards of various sizes, and some even offer foam boards for beginners who do not have much knowledge as pertaining surfing and the handling of surfboards.

Surfboard and Bike Rentals

Offers Stand up Paddleboards SUP at the range of $50 per hour and $80 for the full day. Their Soft-top surfboards are rented out at about $10 per day and $20 for the entire day. Also, they offer rental services of hardboards for professionals at the $25 per hour and $45 for the full day, Skim surfboards for $15 and $25 for hourly and full day respectively. Well trusted and with an excellent Yelp rating, Surfboard, and Bike Rentals gives nothing but the best to those who support them.

Zack’s Rentals

Found on the Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach. With a big rental shop, coupled with other food and rest services offered across their other outlets, Zack’s Rentals provides a fixed price for their surfboards. With just $12, you can get Zack’s luxury surfboards per hour, and with $35, you can enjoy for the whole day. Zack did not put the peg on just renting out surfboards, they rent out Wetsuits for $5 and $15 hourly and daily respectively, Rashguards $2 and $6 hourly and daily respectively, Bodyboards $5 and $15, Fins $2, $6 and Skim Boards $5 and $15 hourly and daily respectively.

Toes on the Nose Surf Shop

It is located at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa Toes on the Nose Surf Shop offers surfboard rental services to locals and tourists visiting Huntington Beach for some surfing moments. Also, Jack’s surf shop offers sales and rental services of every kind of surfboards in Huntington Beach, their store range from the beautiful array of hardboards for professionals to Skim surfboards, also on their shelf are colorful soft-top boards, long and of course short surfboards.

Where Are The Best Huntington Beach Surf Lessons?

So, you’ve decided that it’s time to give surfing a shot. You would like to know how difficult or easy it is to ride on waves like the pros do, but you do not have much time, in fact, you’re here for a week’s holiday, and at the end of your time, you want to surf as well as 11 times World Champion Kelly Slater.

You should not look too far; there are several agencies taking surfing enthusiast through the itinerary of their surfing routine, surf lessons are made easy with the array of Huntington Beach surf professionals.

Learn2Rip Surfing Lesson and Ocean Academy

They are focused on excellence and taking beginners through the safety and rudiments of surfing. Situated around the Huntington Beach, the academy serves its purpose across the environs.

Also known for their artistic contribution is the Surfriders Academy Surf School. The academy takes time to show their students a graphical explanation of how to surf while on land. This feat is rare and therefore places Surfriders Academy Surf School as one of the top best Huntington Beach Surfing Lessons. Surfriders Academy is open all year round with private tutoring of $139 and $95 for each person in a group lesson.

Corky Carrol Academy

C.C Academy teaches ocean principles and the techniques to catching waves. The lesson is both for beginners, amateur, and intermediate surfers, with a fairly affordable price per person in a group, Corky Carrol Academy is one of the Best Huntington Beach Surf Lessons you should consider taking next time you get the surf fever.

Tips To Make You Surfboard Rental Easier:

Go to their website, log in, sign your exemption form, and bring along surfing equipment if you have some. Most surf schools expect you to sign a waiver stating that you accept that surfing can be a dangerous activity and if you are hurt, you promise not to make them liable.

The surf school will provide you with the right equipment, depending on which class you are in. Depending on the conditions, this could include a full diving suit or just an anti-wrinkle shirt. Then it is measured for a suitable surfboard. Surf schools generally use soft surfboards for lessons. These soft surfboards are much safer than normal surfboards because they are soft. Foam covered with plastic fins.

Meet your teacher, choose your surf schools

If you have not already done so, next time, you will meet your surf instructor after you rent a surfboard in Huntington Beach. He or she will be easy to pick. They are usually the kind of local surfer, nice tan, slim and fit with bright eyes popping out of their face.

Your instructor will have a safe beach section for you and your surf group. Once you’re on site, the instructor guides your group through a series of warm-up exercises. These exercises are very important. As in any sport, you give the body a lot of stress when you surf for the first time. Your first surf lesson involves many falls, tumbles and the use of muscles you never knew you had. The least you can do is try to warm up those muscles before you catch some waves.

First, learn the skills on the dry sand

Now the knowledge begins. Your instructor will probably have you set your surfboard in the sand and lie down on it. They will explain where you should place your body, then you will learn to paddle or swimming freestyle stroke. At this point, the surf instructor will guide you through simple techniques that will give you the best chance to go home as a successful surfer. Pay special attention to the fact that each of these techniques can make a big difference in your surfing outcome.

Then it’s time to get wet and discover how much fun but challenging it can be to navigate. Your instructor will not lead you too far during your first surf lesson. Usually, they stop ahead and catch small waves of whitewater. These are the best waves to practice your technique. If you listen carefully to your teacher, you should be able to get up at the end of your first surf lesson.

About Huntington Beach Surf Spots

Located in the heart of OC along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Huntington Beach is famously called the Californian Surf City. From the wetlands of Bolsa Chica in the north and the docks of the Santa Ana River in the south, Huntington Beach gives a long list of experience you should not miss. Although the sensation in the water around the pier can be aggressive and competitive, Huntington Beach offers several miles of classic Californian beach.

In Huntington, there are many great spots to visit after you rent a surfboard in HuntingtonBeach. There is an arts center in Huntington Beach and the International Museum of Surfing as well as a Surf Hall of Fame. Visiting these places can take an afternoon. You can also visit the excellent shops in the city center, where you will surely find new things from flip-flops to surfboard bags or a new bathing suit. There are also good restaurants in downtown Main Street you will definitely like.

If you are addicted to shopping, then you can try Fashion Island Mall or South Coast Plaza. These two shopping malls house some of the best shopping experience in the world. Especially in the South Coast Plaza, there are many great fashion shops and upscale clothing and a great bookstore. If you are hungry, there are excellent restaurants in the mall and outside of the mall. Try something different in the California Pizza Kitchen Restaurant or the Wolfgang Puck Restaurant.

There is nothing better than the Huntington experience with a combination of southwest and west with offshore winds in Santa Ana. If you have time try Jack’s on PCH and Pier Avenue and also Sugar Shack Cafe on Main Street. You can find free or calculated parking spaces along PCH or in the side streets.

With this information, you will mostly have your trip full of fun and adventures. Stay safe in the water and listen to your instructor for the fastest progression. See you in the lineup!

What Are The Different Types Of Surfing Waves You Can Find?

If you live by the beach or are looking to take a vacation to the beach, you may very well be interested in the different types of surfing waves that may be near you. Surfing can really be exciting for you if you love the beach, the water, and waves. The splashes of water, the adrenaline rush, the sweep of the wind in your hair will certainly give you a high. Surfing is both adventurous and fun. You may be dying to get your board shorts on, grab a surfboard and have the time of your life.

There are different types of surfing waves you might be looking for. All of them in which you can surf on depending on the wind and swell direction. There is the beach breaks (all sand bottom), reef breaks (reef bottom), river mouths, and point break being (reef, rocks or sand) the best type of wave.

Waves can be dangerous and you must have the relevant expertise and skills to deal with the surf break you are looking to paddle out to. However, there are some key things you should take note of before you begin surfing on any day. These are as follows:

Swells: You should know of this if you are really into surfing. The wind over the ocean gains speed and momentum. With the distance crossed, the energy of the wind increases. The swell becomes more organized. As a result, you get a more prominent surfing wave. You may be interested to know that there are two kinds of swells mainly-

Groundswell: With this type of swell you can enjoy stellar waves when intense storms with strong winds strong affect the seas and produce swell lines that make their way to the shores.

Wind swell: They happen when winds blow over the surface of the water near the shores creating wind swell waves. They are usually short waves for riding and the quality is inferior to the groundswell. For instance, the state of Florida gets mainly wind swells from hurricanes and depressions out of the Atlantic ocean.

Refraction: When swells finally break out on the shallow water surface, the energy is eventually released. The energy becomes less concentrated on the shallow levels than at the deeper levels. This causes the swell to bend horizontally. The curve created is called refraction. You would be amazed to know that the refraction depends on the features of the landscape and how deep the sea floor is. You may have seen two kinds of refraction at surfing points.

These are:

Convex: When the wave at the middle bends more towards the shoreline, rather than deeper wave the convex refraction is formed. The reason you can have some sometimes longer surf rides but less powerful waves is that of the convex refraction. The wind energy is spread over a larger area.

Concave: Sometimes you would see waves with very prominent peaks. The wave from the side may look like a bowl to you. The deeper ends of the wave bend away from the shore. The swell actually bends more towards shore. This phenomenon is what you call concave refraction. The concave refraction produces excellent waves with peaks that you can ride to the left or right.

Best Waves To Learn To Surf On

Waves and currents are tricky to handle. If you are not properly trained, you may suffer an accident anytime during surfing. If you are a beginner, you should start to surf on waist high waves, or even just the whitewater. You should always go for beach breaks. You should be patient in learning to surf and make sure you understand the different types of surfing waves that you may encounter on your next trip.

Instead of learning to surf on your own and going through many tribulations of trial and error, you can instead take lessons from a professionally trained surfer. So, pay attention to your instructor when he is teaching you the basics of surfing. An instructor will tell you where you should stand on the board, and which wave at their local surf break to start surfing on. Also, go for an experienced guide rather than a novice guide. Reading books and articles on Surfing will also help you out in understanding the process of surfing. You will be able to learn it a lot better after watching YouTube tutorials but be careful and make sure you are getting the right information.

The surf breaks are not the same everywhere. You need to observe the specific surf spot you are looking to surf at, and even watch other people surfing there to get an idea of how the waves differ from somewhere else you have surfed in the past. Primarily there are four kinds of waves that you can surf on. Here are the following types of waves you can find around the world.

Beach breaks

The size, shape, and peak of the waves you will notice vary from time to time due to the shifting of the sand. The beach breaks mean that the waves are crashing over a sandbar. The beach breaks are the best waves to surf on if you are new to surfing or just learning to do it. This is due to the sand being more forgiving than the reef once you fall on it.

Beach breaks, being the easiest to surf on for the beginners, can still be equally powerful in comparison to the reef breaks. You will find it interesting that the beach breaks have unpredictable breaks for the underlying sand moves as the swells and storms change them. The waves on these breaks can be hollow, gentle but at the same time powerful. Some notable beach breaks that may appeal to you are Huntington Beach, Hossegore beach of France, Trestles beach, etc.

Reef breaks

The reef breaks are formed by a reef or a coral under water. The water will break due to the excessive depth at its surrounding and the formation of nearby coral reefs. You can surf on some superb waves on the reef breaks, however, be careful to not get injured. The reef which is below the water surface is very dangerous. Reef breaks are known to cause accidents or injuries. Be careful to not get infections from skin lacerations. You should wear a helmet depending on the wave size and power. Only if you are an experienced surfer, should you surf in reef breaks, otherwise do not. Some of the famous reef breaks that you will love are Ululate in Bali and Hawaii’s Pipeline.

River Mouth Waves

You will find the waves along the rivers. You will notice that these waves are predictable and will accumulate along the rivers in the form of sandbars. You will find many similarities between the point breaks and river mouth waves. You can surf on the River mouth waves as a beginner. The river waves are calm. You are less likely to get injured or hurt.

Point breaks

Point breaks can have different bottoms like coral, sand, or rocks. This type of break when the conditions are on point can cause a very long lasting wave as it wraps around a point and races down the coastline. This break gives everyone the best time to practice multiple maneuvers as you will have much more time on the wave.

When surfing point breaks you may notice more than one surfer on a single wave as the face opens up down the coastline. It is important to understand that this type of break can be difficult to catch a wave as you should be careful with rocks around the break. Known point breaks in Jeffreys Bay South Africa, Noosa in Australia, Sunzal in El Salvador, Puerto Escondido in Mexico.

As you can see, surfing is not an easy sport but anyone that considers taking some training from a professional will progress smoothly and learn much faster. Using proper surfing equipment with helmets and shoes is something that you should not take lightly if you are surfing in cold water with rocks around you.

You should also have done proper research on the place where you are surfing. The landscape of the area, the tides, the size of the swells, the bottom, and the temperature conditions of the place. You must have knowledge of when the sun rises, sets and the sun is at its peak in the area. The solar energy influences the wind energy. The wind energy, in turn, is an important factor that affects the waves.

How Long Is a Surf Competition or Contest?

Surfing competitions bring out the excitement of this adrenaline-charged sport, with some of the best surfers in the world producing incredible performances over and over again. However, much isn’t known about the sport of surfing as many people can’t see the difference between when surfers are having fun or competing against each other leaving many to wonder how long is a surf competition.

The truth is that surfing also has its rules and regulations guiding fair play and things surfers can do to win any competition or boost their rankings. It will be surprising if the sport lacks a standardized regulation system, given the fact that there is a World Surf League and many other surfing associations, teams as well as countless international competitions.

If you’ve recently developed an interest in the sport of surfing or have been a longtime admirer from afar, but now want to increase your knowledge of one of the leading aquatic sports the world has ever seen, then follow us as we x-ray the workings of the surfing world.

The duration of surfing competitions depends on some factors such as the type of competition, number of competing surfers, the number of heats, the weather, the swell, the surf conditions and what would be the best day for competition. According to the schedule of competitions provided by the World Surf League (WSL), most surfing competitions have a window of 11 days per competition. Which means that the WSL has the ability to run the competition every day for 11 days but most of the time it comes down to only 4 days with those days being the BEST days for competition and weather.

Surfing contests are held within a Waiting Period. The Waiting Period is the time within which the event organizers are allowed to run the competition. The period is determined based on the current and historical surf and storm forecasts for the location where the contest is taking place. The waiting period is usually longer than the time organizers need to complete the competition so that they can choose the most favorable days to run their event.

The weather can also affect the duration of a surfing competition. If there is inclement weather, organizers may have to wait for the weather condition to become favorable before surfing can continue. In some cases, the competition will have to be moved to another location if the seas are too turbulent for surfers to compete safely, a situation in which the competition is said to be mobile. Accidents and many other unplanned occurrences can further increase the time it takes to complete a surfing competition. If you need more about the schedule of major surfing competitions for this year, check out this site for the dates of every men’s and women’s CT event in 2018.

How Long Is A Surf Competition World Surf League (WSL)

The two most important surfing competitions are the World Championship Tour CT and the World Qualifying Series, both of which are organized by the World Surf League, which is the leading regulatory body in the sport of surfing. The World Surf League also organizes the Big Wave Tour, the Longboard Championship, the Masters Championship, the Junior Championship and the Big Wave Awards.

The World Championship Tour (CT) involves 34 surfers in the men’s category and 17 in the women’s category, in addition to wildcards. The World Championship Tour is the highest competitive level in surfing and boasts the likes of Kelly Slater, Filipe Toledo, and Stephanie Gilmore.

The CT is the biggest competition in the surfing world and attracts an impressive number of top athletes and sponsors, as well as a large number of fans and viewers at home. In addition to the huge attention these events draw, they also pull an insane amount of cash which goes to winners in the form of prizes and endorsements. The goal of any serious professional surfer is to compete against the best at the World Championship Tours.

The wildcards are surfers who are traditionally chosen from the team of the event sponsor or local area to compete against the professional surfers in the CT. The wildcards can also be picked from the top 10 Qualifying Series and Junior ranks. These surfers are usually used to replace injured surfers, and they bring new faces to the competitions and also put up great performances against the well-established guys in the sport.

On the other hand, the World Qualifying Series is a competition for gaining more points to enable athletes to compete in the Championship Tours. There are different point systems in the QS, but the more points you can get from competition, the easier it becomes to qualify. The more points you accumulate, the higher your level in the rankings and you will be entitled to compete in higher level events. The total points gained during the year, is used to rank surfers by the end of the year.

At the end of the year in the men’s division, the top ten surfers on the Qualifying Series are qualified to compete in the WCT while the 22 highest ranking surfers in the WCT are qualified to compete in the CT. Add two replacement surfers, and you have 34 surfers for the men’s WCT. In the women’s division, the six highest ranking surfers qualify for the CT while the top ten surfers on the CT get to compete in the Championship Tours. Plus, one replacement surfer and you have 18 surfers in total for the women’s WCT.

The International Surfing Association

The International Surfing Association also organizes competitions, but these only offer medals for participating countries, not monetary prizes. The ISA competitions involve different countries sending surfing teams comprising of 4 men and 2 women to compete in the name of their countries. These competitions are an avenue for surfers to showcase themselves to the world, network and win endorsement and sponsorship deals. ISA competitions last for about 8 days and are held in different part of the world every year.

What is a Heat in Surfing?

Heat refers to each phase of the surf competition, i.e., a surf competition is divided into a series of heats. Depending on the type of competition, a heat can last up to 20-40 minutes within which surfers must try to catch the best waves. Each surfer is allowed to catch as many waves as possible, and each wave is scored separately on a ten-point scale. Irrespective of the number of waves a surfer rode, the panel of judges only counts the two best waves, culminating in a total score of 20. A 20/20 score means a surfer caught two perfect waves, although this is rare it is possible and we have seen it over the years. The highest and lowest judge’s scores are also discounted, and only the three median scores are used to calculate the score of each surfer.

During a heat, it can be quite hard for the untrained eye to identify the best surfers on the waves, but you can listen to the announcements. In addition to informing the spectators, the announcements also let surfers know how they are faring on the waves.

In professional surfing competitions, heats can be man-on-man, three-man, or four-man and the winner of each heat in a two-man or three-man contest or the two best surfers in a four-man contest qualify for the next stage of the competition until the last round.

Unlike other major sports such as soccer or basketball where there are scientific and objective officiating rules, surfing is heavily reliant on the subjective judgment of each member of a panel of five judges as there are many variables at play.

Professional judges award scores by looking at the difficulty of the heat, maneuvers, power, and speed of the rider. Controlled and completed maneuvers will also earn riders higher scores. According to the WSL, here are the criteria for scoring surfers per heat:

Commitment and degree of difficulty

Innovative and progressive maneuvers

Combination of major maneuvers

Variety of maneuvers

Speed, power, and flow

There are five quality levels in wave scoring including 0-1.9 (Poor), 2-3.9 (Fair), 4-5.9 (Average), 6-7.9 (Good), 8–10 (Excellent). Surfers are always careful to choose waves because a small wave that allows them to maneuver and perform at high speed is more rewarding than a huge wave that prevents peak performance.

Also, judges have to the consider the type of waves, the quality of the waves on the day of the contest, time frame of each heat as well as the impact of ocean conditions on the performance of surfers on each heat. All these factors have to be considered and used to adjust scoring criteria.

Surfers can lose some points if they violate the rules of the competition, although onlookers may never notice any rules being broken. Dropping-in and interference are some of these violations, and an erring surfer can lose half of the points on that wave. Surfers have different tactics of turning the tide against other contestants, and this is why being skillful is not enough to win as a surfer. You need to be aggressively competitive as well.

How Many Heats in a Surfing Competition?

The number of heats in a surfing competition depends on the number of rounds and type of competition. Each round is divided into some heats, which decreases as the event progresses and surfers get knocked out of the competition. Here is an example of a surfing event where the surfers engage in 3-person and 1-on-1 heats.

Round 1: 12 3-person heats in which the winner advances to the third round and the other two move to the second round.

Round 2: 12 1-on-1 heats in which winners here move to the next round while the losers crash out of the contest.

Round 3: 12 1-on-1 heats where the winners move to Round 4 while the losers are eliminated.

Round 4: 4 3-person heats in which the winner and runner-up progress to the Quarterfinals while the rest is eliminated.

Quarterfinals: 4 1-on-1 heats. The winner of this round qualifies for the Semifinals.

Semifinals: 2 1-on-1 heats. The winners of the semifinals qualify for the Finals

Final: 1 1-on-1 heat that produces the winner of the contest and a runner-up.

From the breakdown of the surfing competition above, it is clear that a surfing competition can have up to 50 heats and above, depending on the type of competition. Surfing competitions can be local, state, national or international and the scale of the competition determines the number of heats. Invariably, the number of surfers also determines the number of heats in a surfing competition.

From its ancient roots as a sport of the nobles in Hawaii, surfing has grown to become an internationally recognized and money-spinning sport drawing professionals and amateurs as well as millions of fans all over the world. The next time you are watching a surfing contest, we hope you won’t be confused by the prevalence of heats and waves from the podiums.

So, How Do You Start Surfing?

Before we dive into how do you start surfing, it is nice to understand and educate yourself on how this sport started. Surfing, known as heʻe ʻana (heʻe means to surf, and ʻana is the nominalizing particle) in the Hawaiian language and first discovered during the first voyage of James Cook while the ship stayed in Tahiti. Surfing was a central part of the ancient Polynesian culture and predates European contact. It is possible that Polynesian settlers in Hawaii most likely were skilled in simple surfing, and after a several hundred years of surfing the waves of Hawaii, the Hawaiian form of the sport developed. Surfing is one of the oldest practiced sports in the world.

Many people wondering how do you start surfing are usually interested in what skills are needed as well as equipment. But you can start surfing with a longboard for beginners, a leash, fins and a nice coat of wax on your surfboard. Flexibility,strength, balance, endurance, and commitment will also help you start surfing.

What Skills Do You Need For Surfing?

It is known that there are a few surf skills that are needed for you to enjoy the sport of surfing. Below we will point out how do you start surfing with these skills needed.

Balance

Balance is one of the most important skills in surfing. You not only are standing up on a small surfboard while at the same time you are going through the ocean on waves that keep changing shape and water texture depending on wind and currents.

Flexibility

Being flexible is as important as balancing for surfing. It takes flexibility to surf well. You need to be able to go from a prone position while paddling to an upright position on a moving board absorbing the shock of the waves on the surfboard. Also, flexibility can prevent injuries when you fall on a big wave and the white water throws your body around like a rag doll.

Strength

Those who surf need to have a lot of upper body strength core and lower body strength. This means arms that are strong, as well as strong legs. Training the chest, shoulders, triceps, back, Abs and Legs will greatly improve your time in the water as you can surf longer due to increased endurance levels. A strong and healthy body will help you in recovering due to any surf injuries.

Endurance

To paddle constantly through big waves, whitewater and strong currents will take a lot of endurance. Beginning surfers need to be willing to push themselves through muscle fatigue and exhaustion if you want to keep surfing and progress to bigger and faster waves. Determination and endurance go together and are key skills in becoming a great surfer.

This is much more vital to paddling than to surfing. A wave that is standard only lasts a few seconds, so it really does not take much energy as you take off at an angle that is along the face of the wave and kicking out. But, to paddle continually through whitewater with heavy lips and whirling currents does take a lot of endurance. That is when trying to catch more waves will be difficult, because you will be tired from fighting the white water to reach the lineup. If you are passionate about surfing, you more than likely will train to get all the endurance you need and you will progress rather quickly.

Determination

Getting pounded wave after wave can certainly test your motivation when you start to surf. If you do not have the determination to keep with it, then surfing can be an experience that is frustrating. It is a tough sport, so do not get discouraged especially in the first few months of practicing. Surf can definitely be picked up faster by those that have skateboarded, snowboarded and wake surfing. But, with practice as well as determination ultimately you will start seeing improvement and the rewards can be huge and fun.

If you have balance, flexibility as well as endurance in addition to a real passion for surfing; you will more than likely progress quickly. Those qualities will ensure you will not only perform on the waves, but you will be able to stay safe in situations where it would be easy to wipe out.

What extra skills do you need to be able to surf?

There are loads of exercises that will help you strengthen your surfing muscles, especially your shoulders, but just keep it simple. These are three ways that will keep you in the best surfing shape even when the waves are flat:

Swimming

Elbows in Push-ups

Jumping rope

Swimming and push-ups will keep the shoulders, back and core strength. If these muscles are not worked frequently, your first surf session will suffer due to lack of strength and endurance. They will also be good for exercising your arms and legs. Push-ups are good for your arms which will help you with your pop up when you first stand up on the surfboard.

Jumping ropes is the perfect exercise for leg flexibility, strength, balance, and coordination which are all essential in surfing. Do these exercises regularly when the waves are flat and alternate an hour in the gym as well as some skateboarding, and you are good to go on your next session.

Surfing needs and supplies

Here are some things that a surfer needs to take up the sport of surfing. This also depends if you are in a warm water or colder water location.

Wetsuit

If you are planning to surf especially during the winter or in some areas in the summer, then a wetsuit is going to be necessary to keep from losing any sense of feeling in your arms and legs. Go to your local surf shop sports retailer and have the staff fit you up with the right size of wetsuit which is crucial to its purpose. If you know what size and make you want, then use one of the online stores to get yourself fixed up and pick up on some hot deals.

Leash

A leg rope or leash is just a long lead that is attached from an ankle to the back of your board to stop you from being separated from your board. Leashes will always be placed on your back foot. They are about the length of a board so when your wipe-out, the board will be out of the way before you surface, but close enough so you can hop back on quickly before the next wave comes crashing down on you.

Wax

An essential piece of equipment that is needed to help you stick to the top of your surfboard is your bar of wax. You can pick up many different brands and types of wax online or at your local surf shop. They come in numerous colors, shapes, and flavors dependent on the temperature of the water you will be surfing in. If you are going to surf in the United Kingdom, then look for cold-water and cool water wax as this will provide more traction. If you live in Florida for example, then you will need a tropical warm water wax. You need to rub the bar on the board’s topside, as this will improve your grip. For Beginners – it is not true that rubbing wax on the board’s underside will make it faster. You only rub it on the top side of your board.

Surfboards

There are many different types of surfboards to pick from when you are an experienced surfer. But as a new surfer, only two of them are appropriate for the beginner. Soft tops made out of foam which is the most forgiving, to begin with, and can be rented at most surfing beaches. While they are the boards that are best for starting they also have limits because of their basic design. You can also start with a longboard made out of polyurethane or polystyrene foam covered with layers of fiberglass cloth, and polyester or epoxy resin. These are much faster boards and a lot less forgiving if the board hits you when you fall of a wave.

Understanding Different Types of Surfing Waves

Reforms: With reform waves, the waves start off normal and as the ocean floor gets deeper the wave dies off, and once the wave hits a shallower reef or sandbar it “reforms” or breaks again.

Closeouts: Waves that break all at once not giving you the chance to ride the wave to the left or to the right.

Tubing or Barrelling: These waves are the types of waves that most experience surfers look for as the swell comes in through deep water and hits a shallow sandbar or reef causing the wave to form a tube. These are not the waves a beginner should start surfing on. If those are the only types of waves you have at your local beach, make sure that you start off on the white water.

Mushy or Crumbly: These waves are not steep and are perfect for beginners as it breaks gently in a non-steep way.

Double-ups: This happens when the crest and troughs align and can make a much bigger and powerful wave.

Surf Etiquette

It is vital to use the right etiquette when surfing, or else things can just fall into complete chaos. The majority of the do and don’ts are described in detail in this surf etiquette post, so this is just a few things to remember. There are some rules that are unwritten, stay out of trouble, and enjoy surfing.

Right of way

Learn the surfer with the right of way on the wave. Take a minute and learn “wave priority”.

Further out: Surfer further out or has been waiting for the longest;

Furthest inside: The surfer who is nearest to the wave peak or the wave that is breaking;

The first surfer to feet: The surfer first to get up is the first on the wave;

Announcement: Calling of “Right” or “Left” if the wave is one with a “split-peak”.

Don’t drop in

Cutting in the front of any other surfer who is already up and surfing the wave is a fast way of getting the locals upset with you. Observing the “right of way” will keep you out of trouble.

Don’t snake

Paddling repeatedly around another surfer to get into the position that is inside on any wave is just not right. Where would everyone end up if everyone did this?

Share the waves

Share – even when you can paddle furthest outside and are able to catch the waves first each time you are in the line-up, do not do it. People quickly become aggravated with surfers who show this type of conduct and will start dropping in at any opportunity. Again, things can escalate into a chaotic situation.

This is all some beginner’s information on how do you start surfing for those that are just taking up this sport. If you follow this, you will be in good hands from the start.

Surfing Etiquette

The surfing etiquette is the most important thing to learn before paddling out. It is not so much about rules but more a code of moral conduct for everybody to stay safe and have fun in the water. The basic rules of surfing are not the same, they are more “common sense” and the surf etiquette is designed for safety measures. Surfers who don’t repeatedly follow the etiquette are often given the stink-eye, yelled at, or to the extreme beat up.

The surfing etiquette is about the right of way, not dropping in, know where to paddle, not ditching your board, not snaking somebody, being respectful to others and the beaches, not being a wave hog, knowing what to do if you mess up and when if you are a beginner knowing to not paddle in a crowded lineup.

Don’t worry if you accidentally drop in on somebody, apologize so they know it was not on purpose. If they still yell at you do not mind them as you will still find some egomaniacs that THINK they own a surf spot but do NOT own the ocean or that specific beach at all. These are rules just like driving rules and it is the real world. Now if you are always dropping in on somebody and being disrespectful, you will get a run in. So be aware of everyone around you at all times.

With the sport of surfing growing in popularity, there are more and more people in the way and the surf etiquette use is declining due to lack of etiquette education. Remember the ocean can be a very dangerous place, and without proper thought for safely, it can be deadly.

Beginners should definitely remember the surf etiquette before going out, and veterans should take a refresher course now and then. There is no such thing as seniority when surfing so all young, old, beginner, intermediate, and advanced surfers should know these rules.

What does it mean to have priority in surfing?

The right of way is the priority of the surfer closest to be breaking wave. This means that the person closes to the peak has priority. As you are paddling for a right handed wave and there is a person on your left, you have to yield for them and let them go.

There are a couple variations to this rule that will help you understand the right of way a little bit better:

If someone is already surfing and standing on a wave, don’t try to get on the wave between them and the white water (right behind them). This reason is because if they are trying to do a cutback to the white water, they will run into you and possibly injure you or themselves. This is called back paddling and it is perceived as bad as dropping in.

Just because the whitewater caught on to the surfer on the wave, doesn’t mean you can go ahead of them. Most surfers with some experience will be able to get speed and go past that section to the open face of the wave. This means that if there is already someone on the wave, do not get on it.

Split peak wave

A split wave is a wave that is breaking in half and offers a right and a left face to surf at the same time. In that situation, two surfers can take off on the wave, each going a different direction. If two surfers are at the peak and paddling for a wave, they should communicate and tell each other which way they would like to go and possibly go opposite ways.

If a surfer is on a wave and the wave closed out or the surfer wiped out, the next surfer down the line can go ahead and catch that same wave. As a beginner, I won’t recommend doing this right away, and wait for you to gain a little more experience to do it.

If a wave is breaking all at the same time and it is not giving you an option to go left or right (close out) and there is two surfers on each side of the wave, it is recommended to kick off early to avoid a collision.

What does it mean to drop in surfing?

This is closely related to the wave priority rule of the surf etiquette…the most important rule to follow when surfing. This means that if a person is already riding on a wave or is at the peak, they have priority so don’t go and take off in front of them. This will block them down the line, and is extremely annoying as well as dangerous.

If you have priority, and the person in front of you is trying to take off on your wave, I would recommend yelling “I got it” or “yep yep” and they will understand to not go if they had not seen you. If you are tempted to drop in on someone remember; no matter how good the wave is, you will ruin their wave, they will be extremely pissed off and nobody will get the wave.

How do you know where to paddle out?

This might seem like common sense but it is a very big part of the surfing etiquette. You should never paddle straight into the lineup where others are surfing. Paddle through the channel where the waves and not breaking and people are not surfing. It might be hard to find that area sometimes, especially in crowded beach surf spots. In that case go where there is less of a crowd to paddle through.

When paddling back out, do NOT paddle in front of somebody on a wave unless you are well ahead of them. Paddle behind them if they are up and riding the wave, take the whitewater hit or duck dive. You’ll understand and appreciate more when it is you on the wave.

Sometimes you’ll just end up being in a bad spot, and won’t be able to go behind them. It is your responsibility to speed paddle to get out of his or her way. If you don’t do this you might get run over.

In the worst case scenario, where you can’t get behind them or the speed paddle didn’t work, stop and wait for them to go before moving. It will be their job to not run you over. But try your best to get out of their way so they are not mad at you for stopping and less chances of you getting hurt.

Don’t ditch your surfboard

This is very important and even more important when it is crowded in the water. Try to control and stay in contact with your board at all times. Surfboards are heavy, long, and hard, so if you let go of it, you might eventually hit somebody causing them serious harm.

This means that if you are paddling out and a big wall of whitewater it’s coming towards you, don’t let go of your board and throw it to the side and dive under the wave. DO NOT DO THAT! If you do, and there is somebody paddling behind you, this will destroy that surfer if the board hits them anywhere in their body! And you do not want that to happen.

This is a hard rule to follow when first starting out, but if you manage to get into that habit early you will become a much better surfer in the long run.

If you are a little bit more advanced, before the whitewater comes up to you, you can look back check if anybody is behind you. If nobody is behind you them go ahead and ditch your board if you feel it will be safer for you then performing a duck dive. Always keep in mind that this is not acceptable when there are other surfers behind you.

What is snaking a wave?

Snaking is when a surfer paddles around another (by making a big S) in order to get in the right position to get priority on the wave. Even though it is not specifically dangerous, it is very annoying and disrespectful. Wait for your turn in the lineup, and you will get respect. If you keep snaking people, you will not get respect and people will start to yell at you. Also being a local does not give you the permission to snake others if they are being polite, if they aren’t then you make the call about being “that guy/gal”.

Think about being at the grocery store with many people in front of you. You have been waiting in the line for a while now, and as you come up to the cashier to scan your groceries and make your payment, someone cuts you off and places all their supplies in front of yours so they can get served first. How would you feel? Exactly!

For beginners only: don’t paddle out in the middle of the lineup

This kind of seems obvious but it still has to be mentioned. If you are a beginner surfer, do not paddle out to a crowded lineup of veterans surfers. Try to go to an uncrowned spot with surfers your level. And if you don’t know, you will find out really fast because you will most likely be given the stink-eye, blocked and not be allowed to catch many waves.

Don’t be a wave hog

If you can catch all the waves, that does not necessarily mean you should. This typically applies to longboarders, kayakers, or stand up paddlers. Since it is easier to catch a wave on these boards, it is tempting to catch them all. Catch a wave, give a wave. If you follow that motto, you should be good all around the world.

Respect all beaches

Do not litter on the beach, respect it like it is your home. Pick up your trash, and pick up some trash that isn’t yours on your way out as well. It will be appreciated by locals and Mother Nature. Real surfers do not pollute ANY beach they go to.

What if you mess up during your surf session?

Nobody really mentions this part in the surfing etiquette, but knowing it is great. If you do mess up by dropping in on somebody or ditching your board; an apology will be greatly appreciated and will reduce the tension in a crowded surf spot. You don’t have to bow to them and keep apologizing unless it’s really bad and you hurt someone. But if you drop in on somebody it will be really selfish not to apologize and probably cause a rivalry for the rest of your day.

As we have explained the surfing etiquette, this might seem like a lot to remember before going out but most of it will become second nature and is mainly common sense. Just remember that being respectful will go a long way. So now go and have fun out there! See you in the lineup.